Everyone is Talking
About how families are now required to be sat together on planes without an additional charge.
Why do I care?
If you’ve ever been faced with having your young child sitting rows away from you on a plane (unless you pay an extra fee), or just the mere thought of it gives you heart palpitations, this ruling matters to you.
Tell me more.
Recently, new legislation was passed regarding air travel and one of the more important regulations passed was the mandate that parents are able to travel with their kids in a seat near them without being charged more money. A child under 13 years of age now must have their accompanying adult sit adjacent to them during a flight without the issue of a fee.
There have been countless stories of families being separated over the years on airplanes. One dad last Spring was being forced to sit eleven rows away from his 4 year-old daughter unless he paid $88 more so they could sit together. Needless to say, he paid the fee. Stories of parents on swapped flights – not due to any fault of their own – were being asked to leave their 5 year-old to sit with a stranger, or pay a fee. Blogs were being written to give parents strategies and work-around tips to try and avoid such scenarios because it was so prevalent.
This new ruling fixes the issue. Done deal.
It also has provisions for mother’s rooms at airports for breastfeeding. Score.
Another bonus, if your bags are lost in transit for more than 24 hours, you get your baggage fees returned to you. Considering they often become lost in transit, that’s a small comfort. These are all solid wins for traveling parents.
In the Trenches
You love Joanna Gaines and her show Fixer Upper with husband Chip, but we love her even more for her most recent social post. On Friday of last week, Joanna shared an image of her daughter gazing out her bedroom window at birds and butterflies that were gathered around a bush that Joanna had planted nearly five years ago – one that she had forgotten about until that moment as her daughter stared at it in wonder. Joanna shared this thought, in part:
“…First, I didn’t know she looked out for her bird every morning. Second, I forgot all about the bush and never told her if she looked out the window she would see the prettiest butterflies and hummingbirds gathered around it. It’s hard not to think this is a lot like parenting… You sow seeds early on and work hard to be intentional and then over time you move on to new lessons and challenges. Then one day you look up and the seeds you planted in your little children’s hearts are now in full bloom. Be encouraged today to keep pressing in and tending to their hearts. It will be worth it. ”
Check out the post to see the darling image and the full post.
Your Digital LITTLE Kid
This Pokémon Go 101 video created by Nick from the City of Miami Police Department gives a great tutorial on the game and more importantly some safety considerations. It’s a quick and dirty for any of you who have been waiting to jump on the Pokémon Go bandwagon. Nick also has videos covering Snapchat and Facebook with useful information that you may not have considered when allowing your kids on these platforms. He tackles the tutorials in a funny, relatable and informative way. We plan to keep tabs on future installments of his Social Media 101 series because of his unique perspective as a police officer is one we need in our parenting arsenal.
Trending Plate
National Ice Cream Day was Saturday, but considering much of the United States is seeing a heat index over 100 degrees today, we’re thinking an extension is in order. Go ahead and throw together these Donut Ice Cream Sandwiches with your kids and stay cool.
Parting Thoughts
“Growing up, my father used to ask my brother and me what we had failed at , at the dinner table…and, he’d celebrate it…failure for me became not trying, versus the outcome…so many people don’t take risks for fear of failure.”
– Spanx Founder and CEO, Sara Blakely offering advice on how to redefine failure based on her own childhood experience – she shares in this video so many great insights on failure – like helping your kids see the hidden gifts. Definitely worth a watch.
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